The New Normal
by okteiviablake
Summary: Lincoln and Octavia try to adjust to their new reality after his return. [2x07 / 2x08 / 2x09]


October 21st, **The Dropship**

It was time to leave.

The Grounders left the Dropship first. Commander Lexa went in front, followed by Indra, Gustus and the guards that had accompanied them.

It was the first time Octavia had been in the presence of the infamous Commander, but she'd hardly paid attention to her. All her focus was on Lincoln.

 _He was back_ , she rejoiced. Lincoln was alive, and he was himself again.

Lincoln had been turned into a Reaper by the Mountain Men. She and Bellamy had found him by chance and had managed to capture him, but he'd aggressive and unpredictable in his Reaper state. Abby had tried her best to save him from the drug's effect, but his heart had stopped. Octavia had thought she'd lost him forever, but their efforts to save him had finally paid off when Abby had zapped him with one of the shock batons used by the guards.

Clarke, Abby and Finn went down, as well, leaving Octavia, Bellamy and Nyko on the upper level with Lincoln.

They'd unchained him, but Lincoln was still too weak to move and Octavia refused to leave his side. She was still kneeling down next to him, holding his hand.

Bellamy nodded at her. "You're next, O. Time to go," he told her. Bellamy knew how much Lincoln meant to his sister. Then, he promised, "We'll take him down."

She looked down at him, uncertainly. Then, she leaned down and kissed Lincoln's forehead. "I'm gonna be right downstairs, okay?"

Lincoln nodded.

She put on her jacket, grabbed Lincoln's sword and bag, and climbed down the steps to the main floor of the Dropship.

As she was waiting for them to come down, Octavia let her mind reflect on everything that had happened here. His heart had actually stopped… Lincoln had been dead. Right there, in front of her.

Abby's words echoed in her head…

 _I'm sorry, he's gone._

Octavia shivered just remembering it.

Then, she heard them coming down.

With care and some skill, Bellamy and Nyko managed to bring Lincoln down to the floor level and gently laid him down on the makeshift stretcher. It was fortunate that they still had it from when they'd tried to carry an injured Raven out of the camp during the Grounder attack. Octavia covered him with one of the red blankets the delinquents had used.

Bellamy held the front of the stretcher, while Nyko held the back part of the stretcher. Octavia held the parachute that covered the doorway open as the two men carried Lincoln out.

Outside, the others still waited.

The Commander took another long look at Lincoln before informing them that she and her attendants would escort them until the border of their camp.

The Grounders walked ahead of them, on the way back to their camps.

Octavia walked beside the stretcher, never letting go of Lincoln's hand.

"There's a camp, not too far from here," she explained to him as they walked. "It's where the Ark landed when it fell from the Sky. It's where we're going. Abby going to take care of you, and you can recover there."

As promised, the Grounders had accompanied them until they reached their own camp. Clarke stayed behind with the Grounders to try to negotiate peace with the Commander.

Inside Camp Jaha, they had taken Lincoln to Medical. Abby had arranged to place him in a more separate part of the clinic, for privacy. For which they both Lincoln and Octavia were grateful for.

Bellamy had brought him some clothes he'd scavenged from the Arkers and Octavia and Nyko had helped Lincoln change out of the ripped shirt and into the dark burgundy colored sweater.

Then, Lincoln had absolutely insisted that he should be restrained. He didn't trust himself not to go berserk and attack again. Octavia hadn't wanted to put those damn things on him, but with his fierce insistence, she'd given him and done what he wanted. She'd hoped it would make it feel better.

Abby had treated and dressed his gunshot wound properly. Octavia had shivered at the sight of the injury and the knowledge that she'd been the one to inflict it. She hadn't had a choice. Lincoln, in his Reaper state, had been about to kill Bellamy. So, she'd shot him in his right leg.

"How are you feeling?" Abby asked, as she finished setting up the IV on Lincoln's left hand.

"Tired," he murmured. "And confused." _And with one hell of a headache_ , he added silently.

"Well, if you need anything, call me," Abby instructed before turning to leave.

"Thank you, Abby," Octavia said. "Seriously. For everything."

Abby smiled at Lincoln, nodded, and left.

Then, Octavia turned to Nyko.

"You should go, too. It's not safe for you in here."

Nyko's entrance in the Skaikru camp had raised more than a few eyebrows. The Sky People were deathly afraid of the Grounders and now, not one, but two grounders were walking right into their home. The people had glared and murmured to each other.

Even now, the other patients in Medical stared at Nyko with fearful expressions, like he was about to jump them at any minute.

"You're here," Nyko said to Lincoln.

"I'll be fine," Lincoln argued. "Octavia's right. You should go…"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him," she vowed.

Nyko grabbed Lincoln's arm gently and squeezed it.

"Be well, brother."

"You, too."

Nyko nodded to Octavia before leaving.

When they were alone, Lincoln shifted uncomfortably. Octavia rushed to his side and helped him adjust his position on the bed, fluffing his pillows.

Then, she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need anything?"

 _Stop it_ , he moaned internally. _I don't deserve this. If you knew everything I've done, you'd hate me. Stop being kind, stop loving me. I don't deserve it._

He nodded wearily. "I'm fine."

"Do you want some water?" she asked, going to grab the bottle.

But Lincoln only shook his head.

She felt dismayed. Octavia wanted to help him, but she didn't know how. He looked so beat, so worn out. Like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Or its guilt. There were shadows under his eyes, and cuts and bruises covering his lovely face.

Lincoln was still out of sorts with reality. He couldn't believe what he'd been capable of… He remembered every single thing he'd done as a Reaper, including trying to kill Octavia. The hunger and the need to kill had been so overwhelming. He hadn't been able to stop it, even with the small voice in the back of his mind shouting at him, telling him to stop…

He forced himself to push the dark thoughts away, and changed the subject.

"So, this is the Ark."

Octavia looked around at the place.

"Yeah. Well, it's called 'Camp Jaha' now."

She'd said the name sardonically.

He looked at her with a frown. "You don't like the name?"

"It was named after the man who had my mother executed, so no… I can't say that I'm a fan."

But that wasn't the only thing that troubled her. It wasn't even the thing that troubled her the most. There was something Lincoln needed to know, but she had no idea how to tell him…

"Listen, something serious did happen while you were… gone. Umm…" How could she say this? These was his village, his people, and they'd just been brutally massacred…

Octavia closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began.

She told him everything. How Finn had been looking for Clarke and their missing friends, and how a misguided attempt had lead him and Murphy into TonDC, how he'd captured the villagers and killed 18 of them…

Lincoln stared blankly at nothing as he listened. Tears rose in his eyes.

Octavia, Clarke and Bellamy had been trying to find Finn and Murphy, to tell them that Clarke was safe and that the 48 were inside Mount Weather – along with hundreds of Grounder prisoners, all of them in danger – when they found the massacred people…

"We heard the shots, ran as fast as we could, but we were too late," she finished. Then, when he said nothing, she whispered, "Lincoln, I am _so_ sorry."

He was silent, but a tear ran down his cheek. Octavia kissed it away and leaned her head against his.

* * *

That night, Clarke and Abby came in to talk to Lincoln, wanting his help with the Grounders outside.

Octavia continued to hover over him. She absolutely refused to leave his side.

"How are you feeling?" Clarke asked him.

"Better."

"Good. Because we need you." She paused. "Lincoln, something's happened…"

"He knows. I already told him everything," Octavia interjected.

Clarke looked at her, stunned. Then, back to Lincoln, who only stared back.

She continued, anyway. Clarke quickly explained that she was trying to make a deal with the Commander, trying to get a truce and an alliance so that they could, together, rescue both of their peoples. But, because of the massacre of TonDC, the Commanded had demanded Finn's life in return. And, now, Clarke was trying to figure out a way to forge a truce _and_ keep Finn safe.

Clarke noticed Lincoln's restraints.

"He's not a Reaper anymore. He doesn't need to be restrained."

"Yes, I do." Lincoln's tone was heavy.

All three women stared at him for a minute.

Abby broke the silence, "Just tell us. Is there a way to make peace?"

For the TonDC massacre, the Grounders were thirsting for blood and ready to go to war if the Sky People didn't surrender Finn…

"Did she leave riders behind?"

"Two, just outside the gate."

"They're waiting for Finn. You don't have much time to decide."

"She can't expect us to just hand over one of our own people," Octavia said. She moved to Lincoln's side. "Would she do that?"

"She wouldn't let the rest of her people die to protect a murderer," Lincoln replied. He looked to Abby and Clarke again. "If you don't do this, she will kill everyone in this camp."

"There has to be something else that we can offer."

"Finn took 18 lives. The Commander's offering to take just one in return. Take the deal," Lincoln advised.

"How can you say that?" Clarke demanded. "Finn was the first person to come to you to offer peace. He's your friend."

"He massacred my village. Some of the dead were my friends, too."

"But that wasn't Finn," Clarke argued. "You know that's not who he is."

"It is now. We've all got a monster inside of us, Clarke, and we're all responsible for what it does when we let it out."

Octavia looked at him. _Was he talking about his experience being a Reaper?_ she wondered.

"What will they do to him?"

"Fire," he told them. "Because he killed the innocent, it starts with fire."

Clarke was shocked. "Starts?"

"They'll take his hands. His tongue, his eyes," he went on. "Then, anyone who grieves will have a turn with the knife. At sunrise, the Commander will end it with her sword. But I've never known anyone to survive until the sword. He killed 18, he will suffer the pain of 18 deaths. Then we can have peace."

Then, Clarke shook her head vehemently.

"I don't accept that. There has to be another way," she stated, and walked away.

* * *

The next morning, the ordeal of Finn's fate was still motion.

Lincoln and Octavia could hear the chants of _Jus Drein Jus Daun_ – blood must have blood – coming from outside the camp.

She sighed and looked at Lincoln.

"They're not going anywhere, are they?"

He shook his head wearily.

They were on the brink of yet another war and he couldn't even get Octavia away from here. Lincoln felt useless and weak.

Shortly after, Abby returned with Kane, seeking Lincoln's council once again.

Kane had this idea that they could judge and sentence Finn themselves, sparing him the torturous death he would undoubtedly suffer at the hands of the Grounder.

 _Ridiculous_ , in Lincoln's mind. The Commander would never agree to it. She knew that, if she did, she would be taken down by her own people.

They were risking the fate of their entire people to protect a murderer. He would never understand the Sky People…

Soon realizing that one of the people in the way of an agreement with the Commander was Indra, Abby decided in speaking with her face to face.

"She's dangerous, Abby," Kane warned.

"If she's the one that's standing in the way of an agreement, I need to speak to her face to face."

"There's nothing you can say," Lincoln said.

"Maybe not. But I can show her we understand her pain. Maybe that will be enough."

Abby left.

* * *

The rest of the day passed slowly, the tension heavy in the air.

It wasn't long before the most recent news reached them. During their desperate plan to escape to save his life, Finn had finally done the right thing and surrendered himself to the Grounders.

Night had fallen and the Grounders prepared his torturous execution.

Inside Camp Jaha, everybody waited anxiously for the tragic outcome.

Octavia wanted to know everything that was happening, but there was no way she was leaving Lincoln behind. So, they remained in Medical, waiting…

There was nothing but silence.

"Do you think it's over?" she asked.

There hadn't been any painful cries or screams yet. And, Lincoln knew from experience, there would be. "Not yet."

Then, they heard Raven's agonized screams all the way from inside the Ark, and knew it was over. Finn was dead.

* * *

Raven's screams still echoed in Octavia's head, wearing heavily in her heart.

She felt a shiver run down her spine as she remembered the sound of Raven's agony. She knew exactly what it felt like. Not that long ago, Lincoln had been dead.

A few minutes later, Kane showed up.

"It's done," he told them. "We have our truce. Now, we use it."

Octavia nodded. The expectation was over. It was time to act.

"Okay…" she said uncertainly. "Can we do anything?"

Kane took a deep breath. "The Commander is leaving now," he continued. "They're taking the body to the village where the massacre took place. She told us to choose our attendants. I think it could be beneficial if Lincoln accompanied us to his village. To show unity, as well as his recovery." Kane paused. "If you're feeling up for it, of course," he finished with a concerned frown.

"I'll go," he replied immediately. Lincoln could tell that Octavia wanted to argue about his condition. He reassured her, "I'm feeling better."

It wasn't exactly the most honest of statements, but he was needed. Peace between his people and the Skaikru was imperative and his presence might help. One last step before achieving peace…

"Fine," she said. "Then, I'm coming, too."

Lincoln sighed, resigned. He knew her coming with them to TonDC might be dangerous, but he was also very aware that she wasn't going to let him out of his sight anytime soon.

"Just give me a moment to get ready," Lincoln told Kane.

"Of course," Kane answered. "In fact, I think I may have something for you."

He left and returned shortly after, holding a black pouch. It was a shaving machine. He lent it to Lincoln, who was in serious need of it. It the time he'd been captured and turned into a Reaper, he hadn't shaved and his facial hair had grown quite a bit.

Octavia helped Lincoln get ready. She began by using Kane's gift to get rid of his beard; then, she removed the unnecessary restraints and helped him put his jacket on. After that, she helped Lincoln rise from the bed and stand on his own two feet.

But he still looked beat.

Lincoln closed his eyes.

Noticing his dismayed look, Octavia took his hand in hers.

"Look, I know it seems impossible right now, but... you're gonna be okay," she promised. She put her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest. "We're gonna be okay."

He leaned down to drop a kiss on her head.

This was their new normal and they would move on from here.


End file.
